Early changes of microRNAs expression in the dorsal root ganglia following rat sciatic nerve transection

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Here we report early alterations of miRNAs expression following rat sciatic nerve injury using microarray analysis. We harvested dorsal root ganglia (DRG) tissues and identified 19 miRNAs that showed significant changes at four early time points after sciatic nerve transection. Subsequently, miR-188 and miR-500 microarray results were verified by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The bioinformatics analysis indicated that the potential targets for these miRNAs were involved in the intracellular signaling cascade, the regulation of signal transduction, the regulation of cellular process and the response to cAMP that were known to play important roles in mobilizing the inherent capacity for neurite outgrowth and promoting regeneration during the early phase of sciatic nerve injury. Our results show that abnormal expression of miRNAs may contribute to illustrate the molecular mechanisms of nerve regeneration and miRNAs are potential targets for therapeutic interventions that may enhance intrinsic regenerative ability.